LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Let’s go out on a limb here and say that the Bellarmine basketball team is back on track. After some struggles that included three straight losses as the team absorbed the loss of two key starters to injury, the Knights welcomed one of those teams who beat them into Knights Hall on Thursday night.
Inhospitably, I might add.
After leading by six at halftime, Bellarmine took Indianapolis to the woodshed, shooting 72 percent form the field – including 7 of 10 from three-point range – to run away from the Greyhounds 96-66 before a delighted crowd of 1,932.
Less than two weeks ago, Indianapolis beat Bellarmine 78-69. Thursday night, the domination was total, and Bellarmine did it with defense. It forced 18 UIndy turnovers, which it converted to a 30-2 edge in points off turnovers. It held Indy to 33 percent second-half shooting and outscored the Greyhounds 58-24 in the paint.
"The game, in my opinion, is a beautiful game when you play like that," Bellarmine coach Scott Davenport said afterward. “When you have 24 assists and six turnovers, that's a beautiful game. It was just an amazing effort. It's just so rewarding when you're the coach of a basketball program, and the commitment from 17 players, five student managers, assistant coaches, a strength coach, a trainer is all together for the same cause."
Bellarmine welcomed captain Daniel Ramser back from a knee injury. It got senior starter Chivarsky Corbett back from an injury. And it got contributions from everywhere.
Senior All-American Adam Eberhard had 23 points. Alex Cook added 14 and Dylan Penn, who has seen his playing time increase amid the injuries, had 12. C.J. Fleming and Ben Weyer added 11 points each.
“We got some guys back," Davenport said. “C.C. (Corbett) practices just one day and comes out and gets eight rebounds in 18 minutes. Daniel comes out here and goes 17 minutes and gets three assists with no turnovers and two rebounds."
Bellarmine will close out its regular-season home slate on Saturday against No. 24-ranked Lewis at 3:30 p.m. The Flyers are tied with the Knights for the Great Lakes Valley Conference lead, and beat Bellarmine 65-61 on Feb. 7.
The game has added importance with the two teams atop the NCAA’s Midwest Regional rankings, with Bellarmine No. 1 and Lewis No. 2. The top team in the region generally is awarded the right to host the Midwest Regional.
The program will honor its seniors on Saturday, a group that will be playing for its fourth GLVC regular season title. It has gone 60-9 in conference play and 105-17 overall.
The senior players: Adam Eberhard (Evansville, Ind.), Daniel Ramser (Louisville Trinity), Willie Schurfranz (Louisville DeSales), Skyler Hunter (Mayfield, Ky., Calloway County High), Tyler Jenkins (Indianapolis, -- transferred from Lehigh for the 2016-17 season), Chivarsky Corbett (Tampa --transferred from Delaware for the 2017-18 season).
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